As the world burns more fossil fuels than ever, persistent obstacles hamper the race for renewable energy

Insufficient financing, too slow connection, unsuitable infrastructure: too many obstacles hinder the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energies, leading to aggravation of the climate crisis, estimates Thursday April 4 a report from the network of experts on renewable energies REN21.

“The world is burning more fossil fuels than ever, global energy-related emissions are increasing, and renewables cannot yet fully meet the ever-growing energy demand,” says REN21 executive director Rana Adib, quoted in the press release.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), energy-related CO2 emissions increased by a further 1,1% in 2023 to reach a record level.

At COP28 in Dubai, the world agreed a deal to “transition away” from fossil fuels and triple renewable capacity by 2030, “creating precedent-setting momentum and spurring greater ambition”.

Certainly, the 473 GW of new renewable electricity production capacities in 2023 have set “a new record”, but this remains “insufficient compared to the 1.000 GW annually necessary to achieve global commitments on climate and sustainable development” , estimate the REN21 experts.

Clean energy, including renewable electricity, fails “to replace coal, oil and gas at the pace needed” to respond to the climate crisis, they add.

“The use of renewable energy increased by 58% between 2012 and 2022, but overall energy demand also increased by 16% during this period,” an increase mainly covered by fossil fuels, according to REN21. Thus, coal, oil and fossil gas represented in total “around 65% of the growth in energy consumption between 2012 and 2022”.

While financing climate transition and adaptation will be a key issue at the next COP29 at the end of the year in Azerbaijan, REN21 believes that the global financial system continues to penalize developing countries. Renewable projects are “significantly more expensive” there, with a cost of capital reaching up to 10%, compared to less than 4% in rich countries.

REN21 also calls into question "significant bottlenecks" such as delays in granting authorizations and in connecting renewable projects to networks.

According to REN21, globally, "3.000 GW of renewable energy projects remained underdeveloped in 2023 due to inadequate grid infrastructure, insufficient financing and delays in permitting ".